An Agreement

Sizzle~

The blackish-red ink splashed onto the two pillars, producing an effect like drops of water hitting a branding iron.

This was a reaction between light and dark magic power, which normally did not interact with ordinary matter. For a brief moment, electromagnetic interference appeared.

But as the ink vaporized, a chill poured out from the dark Qin King's Palace the next instant, then quickly dispersed.

Everyone shivered involuntarily.

Yet the chill had not actually lowered the temperature. It was merely a sensation fed back by the human mind.

The little bit of dark-attribute magic gathered here had only made them feel "cool." A thermometer would show barely any change.

Only where the pillars reacted would there be a slight interference effect.

"Wonderful. This Yin-Gathering Ground has been broken, and without the Ghost Domain, that Fierce Ghost is far less threatening."

Master Juzheng sighed again.

"This ink is pretty good."

Wang Yi glanced at the faint marks left on the pillars and voiced his approval.

"This was prepared by this humble Daoist using an ancient formula passed down through the ages. Pine soot, graphite, hemp oil, cinnabar, silver powder, black dog blood, and rooster comb blood were mixed in the optimal proportions. Under normal circumstances, it should be more than sufficient."

Xuan Yangzi showed a hint of pride. At least he had contributed. That way, he would not need to return the donation later.

As Wang Yi listened, he quickly analyzed the formula. In the end, he had to admit that the ancients had indeed come up with some impressive mixtures through experience.

In theory, silver was the best Magical Metal, and it could even be refined into Mithril. But silver was solid at room temperature and had been expensive even in ancient times, so this was the most cost-effective formula they could devise.

Without relying on magic power, even he could not make anything this good.

"Wait outside now. I'll go in and deal with it. Then close all the hall doors. No matter what happens, don't open them."

After putting on a bit of a show outside, Wang Yi prepared to head in for the main course.

After witnessing the changes to the two pillars outside, everyone naturally followed Wang Yi's instructions to the letter. No one would foolishly ask what they should do if he failed.

The coaches who had remained behind hurriedly began closing the hall doors.

After watching Wang Yi enter through the main entrance, they shut the last door.

Wang Yi stepped into the dim hall. Behind him came the creak of the closing door, and the final beam of light gradually narrowed before vanishing.

The entire hall fell silent.

"Come down. What are you so shy about?"

Wang Yi walked to the center of the hall and looked up at the roof beam.

Lin Shiqin, dressed in flowing red, was crouching on the beam. From that angle, the view was rather pleasing to the eye.

Lin Shiqin merely glanced down at Wang Yi before ignoring him again. Still hugging her knees on the beam, she seemed to be muttering something under her breath, though no spiritual fluctuations came from her.

"You're exposed."

Only then did Lin Shiqin move. She drifted backward, spiraling down around a pillar.

To be fair, after becoming a Resentful Spirit, her flowing red robes and effortless movements gave her a touch more ethereal charm.

After landing, Lin Shiqin half-hid behind the pillar. She shot Wang Yi a glance and curled her lip.

"What do you want? I advise you not to meddle in other people's business."

Since he could see her, she could vaguely sense an instinctive threat from him.

Wang Yi was quite pleased with her state. Her speech was coherent, and her logic clear. As an artificial intelligence core, she was in far better shape than Li Yao, who was currently residing in the ring on his hand.

Of course, she was much stronger as well. She was the sort that could genuinely harm people.

"I came here specifically for you. This isn't meddling. But I prefer mutually beneficial arrangements, so you can make some reasonable requests too. We may very well spend the rest of our lives together, so we should..."

"Who wants to spend the rest of their life with you?!"

Before Wang Yi could finish, Lin Shiqin suddenly became agitated. Her voice even stuttered slightly, her hair stood on end, and her entire spirit body fluctuated violently.

Her reaction surprised Wang Yi somewhat.

He had learned about Lin Shiqin from both Liu Xiaoke and Ma Dong. She had worked hard, certainly, but she could not have obtained her current popularity and resources by being some innocent young girl.

There was a strong utilitarian streak in the way she did things.

Wang Yi did not judge others through colored glasses. His college girlfriend had been quite the green tea bitch, but green tea was tasty and refreshing, and there was no guilt or mental burden in drinking it.

But seeing Lin Shiqin like this, she seemed somewhat different from what he had expected.

The fluctuations of a spirit body did not lie...

Could this aspect be part of her obsession?

Did she want to find someone to spend the rest of her life with, supporting each other through thick and thin?

Had she grown tired of the entertainment industry?

Could it be that she had never been in a relationship before...

That was the only explanation for her current spiritual reaction.

Realizing that she differed from his original assumptions, Wang Yi did not act immediately. There was still time, and the people outside would not dare disturb him. He pointed to a set of steps and said to her,

"Let's talk. You should know you can't escape."

A faint Arcane radiance glimmered in Wang Yi's eyes.

No matter how strong her obsession was or how suitable this environment was, she was still only a weak Resentful Spirit born in a world almost devoid of magic. Wang Yi held absolute dominion over her.

After her brief outburst, Lin Shiqin quieted and fell silent under the aura Wang Yi released.

To her spirit eyes, Wang Yi was like a great furnace. The lingering "spiritual energy" around him that nourished her spirit body seemed entirely under his control, forming a gigantic blazing sun around him that looked ready to pierce through the entire Qin King's Palace.

The gap was far too great!

She truly had no chance of escape.

He could have acted against her directly, yet he had invited her over to talk. In the end, Lin Shiqin drifted over and sat beside Wang Yi.

It had to be said that Lin Shiqin suited ancient costume perfectly. Her beauty was bewitching and radiant, her elegance peerless.

Then Wang Yi heard her begin to speak of her past.

Even knowing that such a powerful obsession meant she must have had a story, Wang Yi had not expected it to be this kind of story.

Lin Shiqin had been born into a single-parent family. Later, her mother found a stepfather, but when Lin Shiqin was in middle school, he got drunk one time and tried to violate her. She had no choice but to fight back desperately, eventually kicking him and escaping the house.

She had never gone back after that.

Though she did not seem willing to say much about her birth family, even those few words conveyed a suffocating sense of despair.

At barely more than ten years old, she had needed to survive on her own outside. Coupled with her good looks, it was easy to imagine how much malice she had faced.

Later, she realized that even working as a factory girl meant enduring the leers of the workshop supervisor and all sorts of ill-intentioned gazes. That was when she understood.

Having not even finished middle school and possessing no marketable skills, the only way she could survive was by relying on her beauty!

And if she was going to use it, then naturally she would choose the best method and maximize its value.

She wanted to become a celebrity—a huge star! She wanted to stand at the top of the industry! Become an award-winning actress! Even become capital itself!

She wanted to live well. She wanted all those people to watch as she climbed to the peak!

With a new goal, Lin Shiqin seemed to become a different person. She began charging toward it with all her strength, willing to use any means necessary.

That was also why, even after obtaining resources and being on the verge of taking off, she had still chosen to do her own wire work and risk her life.

"...Hehe, do you think I'm acting like some bitch? I think so too. But I don't care. I have to get what I want! I have to seize it with my own hands!"

After saying that, Lin Shiqin fell silent.

Yet she had died just before dawn. How could she not hate it? How could such an obsession not be born?

"So your obsession was originally to find whoever killed you?"

Wang Yi, who had been quietly listening, finally spoke.

"Probably."

Lin Shiqin looked up at the palace roof, her voice distant.

"But what you said earlier suddenly made me care about something else."

With that, Lin Shiqin tilted her head and glanced at Wang Yi.

Ever since she had become aware of the world, most of what she had encountered had been malice and greed. Deep in Lin Shiqin's heart, a desire had naturally taken shape—a desire not to be wanted because of her beauty, but to be needed in another way.

Then Lin Shiqin stood up directly. Standing before Wang Yi, she rose onto her toes, clasped her hands behind her back, spun in a circle, and flashed him a brilliant smile.

"Then, for the rest of our lives, please take good care of me..."

--

That's two updates done~

The protagonist chose mathematics at the start because it would attract less attention, and selling songs to earn his first pot of gold was the same. Everyone, guess what the second pot of gold will be?

I've been sitting too long every day, and my internal hemorrhoids keep flaring up. I'm genuinely anemic now. I was even feeling a little dizzy before. I don't know whether it's from my rhinitis or the anemia...